It's only one week -- 6 percent of a season. You don't judge a marathon after 1.5 miles, just like you don't judge a book after one chapter.
First impressions are supposed to mean so much, but they often mislead. The 2012 New York Jets scored 48 points in a Week 1 blowout. John Skelton, Kevin Kolb and the Arizona Cardinals beat Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks in last year's opener. The Indianapolis Colts lost by 20 points in Andrew Luck's first game.
The early stages of lasting storylines have started to emerge in some places, but so much of what we see in Week 1 is a head fake. Here's what you shouldn't overreact to from Week 1:
Robert Griffin III's slow start: We've written all offseason that Griffin's return from ACL surgery is going to take time. It's unfair to expect his accuracy and pocket presence to be all the way back right away, but Griffin showed enough in the second half of Monday night's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles to build off.
The Redskins need to tread water and find ways to win games without out-scheming opponents in the first half of the season. A road date with the Green Bay Packers looms, but Griffin has shown he can dig Washington out of early eason holes.
The Ravens' defense: If the Thursday night opener was a preseason game, all the starters would have been out after halftime. We would have talked about how competitive Baltimore's defense looked against the Denver Broncos. Instead, the Ravens ran out of gas in the defeat. They won't be the only team to get blitzed in the second half at altitude this season. The entire AFC North lost in Week 1, and the Ravensstill have the pieces in place to improve as the season wears on.
The same old Panthers:Carolina's loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 looked a lot like so many Panthers games last year. They played well against a quality opponent but couldn't close. The offense played things too close to the vest overall, but I'm still convinced this is a playoff team.
Carolina's defense lived up to the hype. It took some ridiculous plays from Russell Wilson to beat them. A defensive line this good will win a lot of games.
Terrelle Pryor's big game: Pryor will help make the Oakland Raiders watchable. He has a knack for pulling off Houdini-like escapes as a runner and a passer. He clearly was the right choice over Matt Flynn.
Let's just hold off on calling Pryor a "franchise quarterback" or a long-term answer. The Colts' defense he tore apart in Sunday's loss is very suspect. There are going to be some ugly days. Let's just wait and see how this all plays out.
The Falcons' loss in New Orleans: This might seem strange considering I pegged Atlanta at 8-8 this season, but losing in the Superdome doesn't tell us much. It's just what the Falcons do. They even did it last year, when the Saints were at their lowest. Atlanta's offensive line and pass rush are concerns, but the Falcons mostly have earned the benefit of the doubt to sort things out.
New England's offense: It would be a huge concern if Shane Vereen, Rob Gronkowski, Zach Sudfeld, Danny Amendola and Aaron Dobson were all hurt at the same time in November. But it's Week 2, and there's still a very good chance the Patriots will have two division wins in two weeks after "Thursday Night Football." They're 1-0 after Sunday's win over the Buffalo Bills.
Pittsburgh's disastrous opener: It'll be difficult to replace center Maurkice Pouncey and linebacker Larry Foote. The Steelers' offense was comatose in the loss to the Tennessee Titans. But the track records of Mike Tomlin, Ben Roethlisberger, Dick LeBeau and Troy Polamalu are way too impressive to bury the Steelers after one game.
Take a breath, Steelers fans. You can panic if they put up another stinkbomb Monday night in Cincinnati.
The latest "Around The League Podcast" recapped every Week 1 game. Click here to listen and subscribe.
